Where Are Those Green Shoots? It's the Economy Stupid. And John Mauldin.

It's now been about 5 months since we started hearing about those green shoots that indicated our economy was on the rebound. It seemed like most people agreed at the time. I didn't. I wondered how the economy could be on a rebound when all signs pointed to the contrary. So job losses weren't as bad one month, less people were on unemployment, and the market was up. That was all it took for a rebound?

It seems almost elementary when I think about how ridiculous those statements are and how easily the green shoots theory can be turned right around? Let's think about this. What is one possible reason for there to be fewer people collecting unemployment? Well, how about the fact that there is a certain segment of the population who have been on unemployment so long that their benefits are beginning to run out. Come on - is it that hard to realize that? Or maybe since job losses fell last month, there are fewer first time unemployment filings.

And since when does the following statement make sense to so many people? "Well it wasn't as bad now as it was last month, so that must mean it's getting better". Less bad and getting better are by definition quite different. Sure, the economy may not be sucking at a rate as fast as it was last month - but that's a far cry from getting better.

Now I know John McCain was espousing how the fundamentals of our economy were sound a few years back. I still chuckle at this. And I still say the fundamentals of our economy suck. Forget about the increase in spending this administration is going through. Don't get me started. How about the continuous bailouts, the secret AIG deal, increasing military spending, states running out of money at a ridiculous rate, lack of oversight on Wall Street as, which I assure you only makes sense to those who manipulate the market, it continues to rise.

Or how about Medicare and Medicaid running out of money, social security debt looming, and... wait for it... our uncontrollable debt which doesn't seem to be an issue to anyone.

I've been reading quite a bit of John Mauldin recently. He's an interesting investment adviser and analyst and I think he's spot on with his comments. He's one of the few people I've read who isn't all that optimistic about markets and the economy and it's a breath of fresh air - because IT MAKES SENSE! You can subscribe to his newsletters for free here: John Mauldin - at the bottom of the page. It'd be good for you, I assure you. Open up that mind.

Prius drivers are the absolute worst drivers in the world! They suck and I know why...

This idea first settled into my head about a year and a half ago. It's been germinating ever since. I've always been interested in finding patterns in noise and this one was just too easy to discern.

Why are Prius drivers the worst drivers on the planet? Oh there are just too many reasons. How about driving well below the speed limit in the fast lane? How about switching lanes without blinkers or without a care in the world? How about cutting people off? How about blinkers on and not turning. How about yapping on the phone while doing 20 on the highway? How about inching down the road, obviously looking for a parking spot, but not caring that there's a line of people behind them. It's unbelievable if you haven't noticed it before, but I guarantee that after you read this, you'll notice I'm right within a few days. All I'm asking for is some damn common courtesy.

I did some research to see if other people had written about this. One comment said that the reason we notice Prius drivers are the worst drivers around is because there are so many Priuses on the road. I hope that commenter wasn't serious - or else he probably drives one. More prevalent than BMW's in the Bay Area? More prevalent than Honda Accord's? So much more prevalent that I notice an undeniable pattern? I doubt it.

Here's my deduction as to why Prius drivers suck. Now I have friends that drive them, so sorry to you guys. And I do realize that this is a broad, sweeping generalization, but here goes. Entitlement. These people think that because they've shelled out some money to reduce emissions that they're now holier than thou? That it doesn't matter what they do because they're on a crusade to save the planet? It's their way on the highway!

I don't mind people saving the planet. It's a nice gesture. I do my share to save the planet as well. But just because people do good doesn't mean it entitles you to anything. I recycle. I reuse grocery bags. I buy energy efficient products. And I don't drive like an ass.

So all you Prius drivers. Go take some driving lessons. While you may be decreasing your carbon output, you're increasing, exponentially, ill will throughout the world. And that may just be even more detrimental to the environment.

I'm Back! And Working Full Time

After another long hiatus, I've decided to try to begin writing regularly again. There are lots of times over the past few months when I thought about putting pen (keyboard) to paper (screen), but just couldn't get myself to do it. Part of it was the fact that my life was in flux and I was just trying to figure out where it was going.

Well, I started a job as a Sr Product Manager at Symantec two weeks ago. I had been busy interviewing at several places, but decided that this position was best for a variety of reasons. Most surprisingly though was, and is, how entrepreneurial it is. I'm working on emerging products on the consumer side (NortonLive), in a group that is separate from the core Symantec products. Though working full time at Symantec, I am still working on Vyoo. It is my dream and I won't let it die a quiet death until I've pursued all avenues.

The real reason I ended up getting a job was not because I've given up on my idea, but because I couldn't pay my minimum monthly balance on my credit card anymore. It was that high! And my part time gigs just weren't cutting it. Sometimes in life you gotta do what you gotta do.

I'll leave the details to future posts, but wanted to get something out on my blog in the interim.

My Long Hiatus - Machu Picchu

I seem to be taking off large chunks of time from writing this blog. I always said I wouldn't do that, but some days it's hard to write.

Quite a bit has been going on these last few weeks, including a two week trip to Peru. I have to say, Machu Picchu was well worth the effort. It's truly an amazing spectacle.

For full disclosure, I've been struggling with what to do about Vyoo for the past month. I received a credit card statement last month in which I could barely make the interest payment. It was then that it hit me. I'm dead broke (really beyond broke). I have no income. I have no expectation of any real income, and if I raise money, it's months away.

It was depressing to say the least. And while I vowed not to let money dictate the fate of Vyoo, it certainly has played a role in how I'm deciding to progress with the company. We've recently finished the product and rewrote our algorithm... again. I've started pushing more invites out and I'm planning on doing a full launch in the next week. Concurrent with this launch, I've started looking for work to begin to pay the bills.

I'm still incredibly passionate about what I'm doing, but it comes with several caveats. I think it's time to begin progressing my career professionally, meaning moving to a more structure company with financial support. It's time to start paying my bills and my debt down, because I'm not getting any younger. And it's time to generate some cash so I can invest it into the company.

Anyway, I've always vowed to be open and honest about what we're doing, so I didn't want to sugar coat anything. It's been a rough month - one of the reasons I've slacked on posting anything here. But what I've learned more than anything else is that I'm an entrepreneur. And while I may get a "real" job, it's with the intention of getting back to the startup world somewhere down the road.

What a Great Story - "Telkom ADSL speed beaten by pigeon"

I had to share this. Here's an example of a company that is probably resting on its laurels. From Business Day (here):


"Homing pigeon Winston has made history by beating a Telkom ADSL line in delivering 4GB of data from Howick to Hillcrest, outside Durban in far less time than it takes to download the data using the state-run Telkom’s data network.

It took Winston 2 hours 6 minutes and 57 seconds, whereas the ADSL download was still under 5 % downloaded by the time the bird landed.

Winston took off from Howick after 10:00 this morning and travelled 80 kilometers, or 70 as the bird flies, to ensure the data arrived at it’s destination quickly.

Financial services company The Unlimited decided to test Telkom’s ADSL speed against World War I technology - the ancient technology won.

While the ADSL line was actually given a head start of almost half an hour, Winston still beat the service by 95%.

There has been no comment by Telkom."

We're Switching Teams - WSGR

Two years ago I met with WSGR to discuss legal representation for our startup. I met with one of their parnters, Mark Rienstra, who I got along with really well. After much deliberation, we decided that their deferred payment terms were too high. So we went with Fenwick & West at the time. Unfortunately our partner at Fenwick left for Reed Smith and we got lost in the shuffle. As we approach funding now - I want all of our ducks in a row - and they're not quite there yet. We determined we needed more support and therefore re-engaged several law firms to discuss working together. I reconnected with Mark and sat down for a meeting.

Their terms for the deal were more fair this time around and since we had a relationship already, it made working together much easier. So a few weeks ago, we signed a deal.

GeckoGo

Yesterday afternoon I met with travel startup GeckoGo. They're part of the Facebook Fund startup class and are developing a travel content provisioning system. They've been around for a couple of years and have some pretty good traction in terms of users and even content. They were founded for some of the same reasons that urged me to start Vyoo. Discontent with existing offerings.

Looking at what's out there, it's a shame that there's so much money pouring into the travel space and some large incumbents, but nobody up to this point has captured enough of the market or even created a viable, one stop shop.

Looking at GeckoGo's offering, they are trying to put something like this together. Even such things as finding the right time of year to hit a destination haven't been done well, until now.